kyrub

I have translated the excellent Seb76' UFO extender for the sequel, Terror from the deep. It requires the CE version of the game to run. All the options are in the TFTDExtender.ini file. TFTD extender The extender fixes the majority of bugs present in the X-COM games, like proximity mines bugs, vertical shooting bug, disjoint base etc. Optionnally, you may put the Range Based Accuracy, saved equipment, auto flares and a few other things in the game. On top of that the TFTD extender adds a few TFTD specific features: - Hallucinoids can use their ranged attack correctly - Bio-drones are able to hit with melee - underwater weapons cannot reaction fire on land - a couple of annoying features, popping messages, ugly sound on land etc. were removed - the underwater terrain is used randomly for full combat variety - after 60 turns, you can automatically "spot the last hidden alien" - you may set all liner ship mission as 1-stage only (the lower deck becomes another variant) and reduce their frequency - you may double the speed of new alien races appearance throughout the game - you may sidestep "the live Deep-one research trap" TFTD extender is in alpha stage, so it will be probably somewhat unstable or not working, so beware (and report any problems, please). Credits: Seb76 for creating UFO extender, Xusilak for porting the dissambled exe to TFTD.

It's definitely Martian solution and not the Alien origin tech. I made a mistake.

Actually, I know the trigger only from the exe code, not from the game itself. Thinking more about the issue, the trigger works only at the start of the month, where alien missions are being set-up. So, if you complete Martian Solution and do Cydonia tech quickly (probably before the end of the month, which is not unusual at this stage of the game), you may miss the effect entirely. The effect should be visible during the 11th month of the game on Impossible, regardless of the tech status. I am not sure about the actual reach (what it does specifically). It certainly creates some sort of missions with random race. EDIT: I think it creates an automatic extra human base attack.

The technology is the one called "Alien Origins - leader" (e.g. the second one after the Alien Origins and before Alien Origins - commander) in the classic Xcomutil.cfg file. I don't know which one it is in the game - Martian Solution, perhaps? Either the knowledge of this tech or month >(14-game difficulty) gives you the extra alien activity. Good observation from tynan.

Yes, I think Alien Origins is the tech that triggers the extra difficulty. Either this or reaching a time limit (13 months? cannot remember) creates the effect you are talking about. Excellent observation.

I actually think there is no more "turn 20 trigger" in the latest patch. I found it too dumb.

Sure, I totally forgot to instruct you on this. The difficulty of implementations ranges from extra hard to simple. I'll give you an example with a simple change. Simple change is a numerical value change of some part of the game Let's take the general USO detection % in TFTD, and see the change, step by step. Steps: 1. you get a Hex editor. Some are better, some worse, some are freeware, some not. You search, you read reccomendations, you choose a good one (important). I use Winhex (great, not freeware, it has quick hexadecimal converter tool). 2. You open the exe you're working on (I usually create a copy so I can fiddle with it without corrupting the program). 3. You go to IDA, find the UpdateUFoVisibilityAndActivity fonction. 4. Now, look at the bottom frame. There is a hex address, the fonction starts at 0x61C20 (0x is a common convention to display hex adresses) 5. You find the random detection factor at address 0x61DCC. It reads: push 64h, call GetRandom_0_n. 64h = 100 (use Win scientific calculator to convert hexadecimal numbers if necessary). 100 stands for 100%, if the game rolls % over the max radar %, the UFO remains undetected. 6. You go to Hex editor. You go to the adress 61DCC (every solid hexeditor has a Go to function). You see "6A 64", which means "push 64". Let's say we want the USOs to be twice as hard to detect. We overwrite "6A 64" (100%) with "6A C8" (200%). 7. Save the exe. 8. ====> Every USO is now twice as hard to detect with radars. 9. You probably rename your exe to something like 200detectUSO.exe and store it somewhere. You may create diff files as well, that store the changes (not my way, but it is a good thing). 10. You make another conversion of another game thing. .... 38. You combine all your exe changes with a hexeditor into one file (If you need some info on this later, just ask). You may want to use harder changes. For this, you need a very good skill in reading the code AND making small changes first.

As a general rule, I protect the info about the AI. The more you know about the AI, the more it is exploitable, the less fun is the game. I admit that UFO is now getting close to the state when it does not matter a lot, there are only few players still playing it. I could probably make an exception here. But then, I'm too lazy to write it all down. - Besides, I am not that good at understanding all of UFO's AI. So I could give you only a rough estimate on one part of AI, moving and shooting in battlescape.

The most recognizable feature of the patch is the autofire. In the original, aliens use it only on the closest distance. After the patch, they will clutter your soldiers with bursts of plasma, from distance. If you don't see this, something's wrong. I will try to distinguish the patch by some sort of inscription or sound in the future; I'd do it already, but it's technically uneasy from various reasons. Aliens can currently pick up only the weapons they're staying over (same square). I will try to extend the range in next version, but I'm rather cautious about some AI side effects. Psi attack may still target the weakest most of the time, but I increased the range (the odds). The intention is to avoid AI predictability, but not to cut the Psi threat by making the AI targetting blind to enemy psi strength. I usually try to keep AI structure similar to conserve the basic feeling of the game. You may still try to guess who's the weak Psi link in your team by taking notice at the frequency. It is just harder, less obvious, more dangerous.

I guess I can imagine how tedious it was in those days. Really, reading the assembler code feels like looking with a microscope into a complexe structure, that is normally delt with on a higher level. For all the detail, one cannot see the big picture and feels lost. Today, all this is much more simple (and amusing!) with IDA program. IDA is the deal. It organizes the code into big, interactive graphs, that allow you a much simpler orientation. You see the key points of program flow by simply looking at the graph structure itself. You may decipher adresses by adding data structure and applying them witha few clicks. But, sometimes, the function becomes too big to create a graph in IDA. Then you are back in the point mentioned by NKF. I had this once in an AI structure in Alpha Centauri, and I simply had to get through that. It felt like a jungle all around, no orientation. Without previous experience, I would never cope, I'd give up.

This is how I think you may gradually learn to cope with machine code (assembler language). This requires rather big amount of time, but it's worth it. 1. You get IDA program. Very important, the best of the bunch there by far. 2. You find an assembler tutorial. I used this great manual: http://www.emu8086.com/assembler_tutorial/ - with great quick reference http://www.emu8086.com/assembler_tutorial/...uction_set.html 3. You get Terror from the deep. 4. You open TFTD exe with IDA, wait for analysis. 5. You get this idc file from Seb76/Xusilak: http://www.ufopaedia.org/index.php?title=File:TFTDIDC.zip 6. From IDA window (with analysis finished), you open the idc file. 7. The program is filled with massive amount of definitions and descriptions. 8. You run around happily, lurking inside the code, using the assembler reference, reading the tutorials, learning to understand the code. ... 39. You are now able to port your knowledge into Enemy unknown. (The both exes are ultra similar.) ... 57. You use your knowledge to combine it with Visual basic to create options etc. ... ... 189. You attempt to disassemble another game from the scratch.

Nope. This is time fix + all of my changes, only. You did not mention you'd like to conserve all of Mok's changes (we don't know them in the first place). And since I am unaware about the exact content of Mok's exe, it's better to stay careful and to leave both exe files apart. Otherwise, unexpected can happen. Anyway, thanks for testing report.

Wow, Mok really knew his stuff. A lot of inside changes into that exe. Has anybody extended info about all things the MOK file changes? @oldfan Try the attached file, it should work. If not, we may look further into it, no panic. Please, inform me about the result, so I can post it for anyone (if succesful). UFO_ai_patch_v1_MOKtime.zip

First, using only OBDATA gives you just the "Aliens pick up guns after panicking". Everything else is lost. I have never experienced the quick clock problem myself, so I can hardly help you directly. Is the slowest clock too quick, or it touches only the quicklier levels? I could show you the place in exe, to tweak it according to your wishes - do you have any idea about a) reading an a assembler code? (best) b ) hex editing (average) c) or, if you point me towards Mok's exe (or upload it), I can hopefullly cook a mix of both exes for you. By reading the machine code. It is uneasy to change unless you know the ins and outs of disassembling. I can point towards a largely disassembled code of TFTD but without the knowledge of coding you'll have very hard time to understand, let alone tweak anything.

The patch now has a Dos v1.4 variant.